If you suffer from eczema, you may have turned to the internet or asked your doctor about treatment options. There are many ways to treat eczema, but they aren’t one-time things. To successfully manage and deal with eczema, you must make important lifestyle changes. As hard as this sounds, it is key to living your life without constant eczema flare-ups.

What lifestyle changes may need to be made? Honestly, it all depends on what causes your skin irritation.

A common cause of eczema is certain foods. Many patients experience an outbreak after eating milk, eggs, wheat, seafood, and peanut butter. Other foods can be the cause too. Although the risk of atopic dermatitis is always present, you can significantly reduce the number of outbreaks and flare-ups you have by eliminating certain foods. Keep a journal to compare what you eat to when you have an outbreak. If you believe you found a culprit, work on eliminating these foods from your diet.

Here is where the lifestyle change comes in. Eliminating food from your diet? That may be okay if your trigger factor is seafood. Seafood tastes great, but isn’t a necessity. On the other hand, we all consume milks and eggs and on a regular basis. There are alternatives, but they taste different and will take some getting used to. You want to stop eczema outbreaks, but you are also making a lifestyle change. For that reason, take it slow. If you think milk is the culprit, don’t automatically eliminate it from your diet if you don’t want. Instead, slowly start replacing it with the alternatives.

In addition to foods, another cause of eczema flare-ups is exposure to certain airborne allergens. Some have experienced skin irritation when coming into contact with dust and pet dander. These too can lead to hard lifestyle changes. What if your parents have a dog? Of course, you don’t want to avoid seeing them, but discuss your eczema with them. You can meet outside of their home, avoid direct contact with their dog, and wear covering clothes when visiting.

Another way to successfully treat eczema is to make the switch to all-natural. Some individuals experience flare-ups after coming into contact with certain chemicals, like those found in scented laundry detergents and beauty products. Luckily, this switch is more easier to make. Get your body and skin back to its original state with natural and organic beauty products, foods, and literally anything else you can think of.